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H. A. POPPENHUSEN.

ASH CONVEYING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION HLED MAR. 21, I918.

Patented June 3, 1919.

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. has been wornthrough the wear resisting UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

HERMAN A. POPIPENHUSEN, OF HAMMOND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOIR. TO GREEN ENGINEER- ING- COMPANY, OF EAST GHIGAGO, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

' ASH-CONVEYING SYSTEM.

7 Application filed March21, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN A. POPPEN- HUSEN, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Hammond, in the county of Lake and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ash-Conveying Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to conveying systems for abrasive materials, such as ashes and the like. I

Conveying systems of the kind mentioned generally comprise a pipe line made of a plurality of metal or other pipes connected end to end to form a conduit through which the ash or like material is moved pneumatically. Those portions of'the pipe line where the ash current is distorted or its direction of flow abruptly altered or changed, as by elbow fittings or other bends, are subjected to an excessive and unequal degree of Wear due to the increased abrasive action of the material against the inner surfaces of such pipe sections, brought about by changing or altering the direction of flow of the ash current. To relieve those pipe sections of such Wear, it has been the practice to insert in the same wear resisting sections, such as liners and wearing backs, which are made of a material capable of withstanding such increased abrasive action longer than could the softer material or metal of which the pipe sections are usually made. Such wear resisting sections are usually made so that they maybe removed from the pipe line when Worn and be replaced by new ones, the pipe sections in which said wear resisting sections are placed being so constructed and arranged as to enable this to be done from the outside of the pipe line. Such wear resist-v ing sections being subjected to an excessive wear during the operation of the system, makes it a condition to an economical maintenance of the system to frequently inspect such portions in order to guard against having the outer casing of the pipe line damaged by having a hole worn through the same bythe abrasive material after a hole portion. The class of labor employed about such systems is as a rule of very low intelligence, and it is the common practice to operate the system without any inspection be- Consequently, no attention is given to the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3, 1919. Serial No. 223,802. I

condition of the Wear resistingportionsuntil. there is an indication from the outside of the pipe line and that by the outer'casing being worn throughby the ash current after a hole has been worn through the wear resisting portion. Then it is too late, as the outer casing has been damaged and requires removal and replacement by a new one together with a new wear resisting portion, thereby increasing'the maintenance cost of the system above what itshould be if frequent inspection were made. This matter may best be illustrated by taking for example an elbow fitting or the like. The latter is usually provided with a removable wearing back, and it has been found .inpractice that the ash current concentrates more or less on one spot on the inner surface of said wearing back, such spot having anarea of several inches in diameter. The result is that the constant impingement of the ash on such spot bores a hole through that portion of the back before any other portionof the back is worn through. When this happens the abrasive material flows through the'hole just worn and acts against the outer casing of the elbow over thewearing back, with the result that said Outer casing is very quickly worn through; Manifestly, when a hole is firstworn through'the back, a hole is very soon wornthrough that portion of the outer casing of the elbow over the worn portionof theba'ck, with the result that the ash current is blown outside of thesystem through the hole worn in the outercasing of the pipe fitting, requiring, therefore,,n0t only a replacement of the worn back but also a replacement ofthe whole or. the damagedpart of the outer casing, which in either case is an item of expense in the maintenance of an ash conveying system of this type. V

It is among the objects of my invention to". overcome the objections above noted and to provide means adapted; to be applied to or. associated with a pipe section having a wear resisting portion, or liner, or Wearing back, I as the case may be, so that such means may be quickly worn through after a .holejhas been worn through the wear resisting portion in order to indicate ontheioutsi'de of the pipesection that the wear resistin -por.- tion'has been worn through, and tli ereby prevent damage to the outer casing of the; pipe section so that only the worn liner or the like and the means referred to are the parts that need be replaced, and not any part of or the whole of the pipe section as has been the case heretofore. Consequently, with my invention applied to a pipe line, the system may be operated without fear of the outer casing of the pipe section embodying a wear resisting portion being damaged by the ash current wearing through tho same, with the result that the maintenance cost of the pipe line is reduced to the minimum.

In the accompanying drawings Figur 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pipe section embodying the features of my invention and being taken on line 11 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, I have shown that portion of a pipe line of an ash conveying or like system embracing an elbow fitting 10, the latter being connected at its opposite ends with the pipe sections 11 and 12, re spectively, the connection being made by any suitable form of clamping means, as for instance by clamping bolts 13, 13. Located within the elbow 10 is a removable wear resisting section or wearing back 14, the elbow 10 being formed to receive it. The opening formed in the wall of the elbow to permit the wearing back to be placed in and removed from the elbow is closed by a cover plate 15, which when in closed position forms a part of the wall of the elbow, as shown in the drawings. Said cover plate 15 is provided with outwardly extending side flanges 16, 16 positioned over similar flanges 17, 17 provided on the other portion of the elbow 10, as shown in Fig. 2. To clamp the cover plate 15 in closed position there is provided a suitable form. of clamping means, which may takethe form of clamp bolts 18, 18 inserted through said flanges. The wearing back 14 has'its marginal edges bearing against the body portion of the elbow fitting 10, and is held in such position by one or more set screws 19 inserted through the cover plate 15 for that purpose. The current of ash or other abrasive material flows through the elbow 10 in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 1, and by reason of the curvature of the elbow it follows that the main impact of the ash current is concentrated against one spot on the inner curved surface of the wearing back 14. Such spot where maximum wear occurs can readily be predetermined or ascertained beforehand. With the degree. of endwise curvature given to theinner face. a of the wearing back 14 shown in Fig. 1, such'spot wouldbe at about the place marked 6 and cover an area of several inches in diameter. The wearing back l4'i s first worn through in said spot, due to the boring elfect of the increased abrasive action of, the'material. constantly contacting against that portion of the wearing back, and to prevent the cover plate 15 being damaged by having a hole worn therethrough after a hole has been worn through the wearing back, I provide in such cover plate an opening 20 located in substantial alinement with that portion 6 of the wearing back 14 which is worn through first. Said opening 20 is closed by a supplemental cover plate 21, preferably made from a relatively thin sheet of sheet metal or other material and clamped in closed position by a plurality of clamping screws 22 inserted through the plate 21 and into that portion ofthe main cover plate 15 about the opening 20, as shown in the drawings. Manifestly, after a hole has been worn through such portion Z) of the wearing back 14, the ash current acts against the supplemental cover plate 21 and soon wears a hole there- 8 through, thus permitting the ash current to blow out of the pipe section 10 through such hole and serve as a means to indicate on the outsideof the pipe line that said wearing back 14 has been worn through and needs replacement. Said plate 21 is preferably made of relatively thin material so that it may be worn through quickly and permit an indication to be given on the outside of the pipe line as soon as the wearing back 14 is worn through, and thus receive immediate attention before any damage is likely to be done to the pipe section proper. Furthermore, said plate 21 is made of relatively in expensive material, so that when worn 1 through it may be replaced by a new one at exceedingly small cost. It logically follows. therefore, that the maintenance cost of the pipe section 10 may be kept at theminimum, because by the provision of the inexpensive plate 21 the pipe section proper is not dam-- aged when the wearing back 14 is worn through, and the only parts that need be re-' placed when worn are the wearingback and the plate 21, the latter being a negligible item of expense when compared with the cost of replacement of the cover plate 15 or the entire pipe section'proper. As before stated, the spot where maximum wear occurs may be readily predetermined or definitely located beforehand in any installation, and the inexpensive removable cover plates 21 may be located in the outer wall of the pipe sections where needed, that is, in alinement with such spot or spots as the case may be. While I have shown and described in detail herein my invention as being applied to an elbow fitting, yet it is'to be of course understood that my invention may be readily applied to any other portions of the pipe line where required, such as straight fittings having liners or other wear resisting portions.

Moreover, while I have shown and de-" scribed herein in detail one preferred form of device constructed in accordance with my invention, yet it is to be of course understood that the several details of construction and arrangement of parts shown may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my in vention, and I do not wish to be limited tov section having an opening in its outer wall,

and a cover plate for said opening and adapted to be worn through after said wear resisting portion has been worn through.

2. A pipe section adapted for use in an ash conveying or like system, and having a wear resisting portion therein, said pipe section having an opening in its outer wall opposite a wearing area in said wear resisting portion, and a cover plate for said opening and adapted to be worn through after said wear resisting portion has been worn through in said wearing area.

3. A pipesection adapted for use in an ash conveying or like system, a wear resisting member in said pipe section, that part of the latter covering said wear resisting member being provided with an opening extending therethrough opposite a wearing area in said member, and a cover plate for said opening and adapted to be worn through after said member has been worn through in said wearing area.

4. A pipe section adapted for use in an ash conveying or like system, said pipe section being made in two longitudinal parts adapted to be clamped together, a removable wear resisting member 1n said pipe section between the two parts thereof, one of the parts of said pipe section being provided with an opening extending therethrough opposite a wearing area in said member, and a covering for said opening.

5. A pipe section adapted for use in an ash conveying or like system, said pipe section comprising a body part and a detachable cover part, a liner in said pipe section and having said cover part extending over the back of said liner, said cover being provided with an opening therein, and a cover plate for said opening. 7

6. A pipe section adapted for use in an ash conveying or like system, said pipe section comprising a body part and a detacha'ble cover part, a liner in said pipe section and having said cover part extending over the back of said liner, said cover being provided with an opening therein opposite that portion of said liner which is worn through first by the abrasive action of the material flowing thereagainst, and a cover for said opening.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 16th day of March, A. D. 1918'.

HERMAN A. POPPENI-IUSEN.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR P. STRONG, H. P. Wilson.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

